Republlican candidates for governor Tom Foley, left, and John McKinney square off during a debate held at the Hartford Courant building Thursday, July 17, 2014, for the two Republicans running for governor in Connecticut. Foley is a businessman from Greenwich and former U.S. ambassador to Ireland. McKinney, of Fairfield, is the Senate minority leader in Connecticut. less

Republlican candidates for governor Tom Foley, left, and John McKinney square off during a debate held at the Hartford Courant building Thursday, July 17, 2014, for the two Republicans running for governor in ... more

Photo: Brad Horrigan, AP Photo/ Brad Horrigan, Pool Ha

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Republican candidate for governor Tom Foley speaks at a debate held at the Hartford Courant building Thursday, July 17, 2014, for the two Republicans running for governor in Connecticut. Foley is a businessman from Greenwich and former U.S. ambassador to Ireland.

Republican candidate for governor Tom Foley speaks at a debate held at the Hartford Courant building Thursday, July 17, 2014, for the two Republicans running for governor in Connecticut. Foley is a businessman

Republican candidate for governor John McKinney speaks at a debate held at the Hartford Courant building Thursday, July 17, 2014, for the two Republicans running for governor in Connecticut. McKinney, of Fairfield, is the Senate minority leader in Connecticut. Foley is a businessman from Greenwich and former U.S. ambassador to Ireland. McKinney, of Fairfield, is the Senate minority leader in Connecticut. less

Republican candidate for governor John McKinney speaks at a debate held at the Hartford Courant building Thursday, July 17, 2014, for the two Republicans running for governor in Connecticut. McKinney, of ... more

Photo: Brad Horrigan, AP Photo/ Brad Horrigan, Pool Ha

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Republican gubernatorial candidates Tom Foley, left, andJohn McKinney shake hand at the conclusion of a debate held at the Hartford Courant building Thursday, July 17, 2014, for the two Republicans running for governor in Connecticut. Foley, is a businessman from Greenwich and former U.S. ambassador to Ireland. McKinney, of Fairfield, is the Senate minority leader in Connecticut.

Republican gubernatorial candidates Tom Foley, left, andJohn McKinney shake hand at the conclusion of a debate held at the Hartford Courant building Thursday, July 17, 2014, for the two Republicans running for

Republican candidate for governor John McKinney speaks at a debate held at the Hartford Courant building Thursday, July 17, 2014, for the two Republicans running for governor in Connecticut. McKinney, of Fairfield, is the Senate minority leader in Connecticut. Foley is a businessman from Greenwich and former U.S. ambassador to Ireland. McKinney, of Fairfield, is the Senate minority leader in Connecticut. less

Republican candidate for governor John McKinney speaks at a debate held at the Hartford Courant building Thursday, July 17, 2014, for the two Republicans running for governor in Connecticut. McKinney, of ... more

Photo: Brad Horrigan, AP Photo/ Brad Horrigan, Pool Ha

Image 7 of 12

Republican candidate for governor Tom Foley speaks at a debate held at the Hartford Courant building Thursday, July 17, 2014, for the two Republicans running for governor in Connecticut. Foley is a businessman from Greenwich and former U.S. ambassador to Ireland. less

Republican candidate for governor Tom Foley speaks at a debate held at the Hartford Courant building Thursday, July 17, 2014, for the two Republicans running for governor in Connecticut. Foley is a businessman ... more

Photo: Brad Horrigan, AP Photo/ Brad Horrigan, Pool Ha

Image 8 of 12

om Foley speaks to the press following a Republican gubernatorial debate held at the Hartford Courant building Thursday for the two Republicans running for governor in Connecticut. Foley is a businessman from Greenwich and former U.S. ambassador to Ireland. McKinney, of Fairfield, is the Senate minority leader in Connecticut. less

om Foley speaks to the press following a Republican gubernatorial debate held at the Hartford Courant building Thursday for the two Republicans running for governor in Connecticut. Foley is a businessman from ... more

Photo: Brad Horrigan, AP Photo/ Brad Horrigan, Pool Ha

Image 9 of 12

State Senate Minority Leader John McKinney speaks to the press following a Republican gubernatorial debate held at the Hartford Courant building Thursday, July 17, 2014, for the two Republicans running for governor in Connecticut. McKinney, of Fairfield, is the Senate minority leader in Connecticut. Foley is a businessman from Greenwich and former U.S. ambassador to Ireland. McKinney, of Fairfield, is the Senate minority leader in Connecticut. (AP Photo/Hartford Courant, Brad Horrigan, Pool) less

State Senate Minority Leader John McKinney speaks to the press following a Republican gubernatorial debate held at the Hartford Courant building Thursday, July 17, 2014, for the two Republicans running for ... more

Photo: Brad Horrigan, AP Photo/ Brad Horrigan, Pool Ha

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Republlican candidates for governor Tom Foley, left, and John McKinney square off during a debate held at the Hartford Courant building Thursday, July 17, 2014, for the two Republicans running for governor in Connecticut. Foley is a businessman from Greenwich and former U.S. ambassador to Ireland. McKinney, of Fairfield, is the Senate minority leader in Connecticut. less

Republlican candidates for governor Tom Foley, left, and John McKinney square off during a debate held at the Hartford Courant building Thursday, July 17, 2014, for the two Republicans running for governor in ... more

Photo: Brad Horrigan, AP Photo/ Brad Horrigan, Pool Ha

Image 12 of 12

Foley, McKinney clash in first televised debate

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Gubernatorial candidates Tom Foley and John McKinney tried to tease out the stark contrasts between each other Thursday on spending, education, gun control and their conservative credentials during their first face-to-face debate of the race.

The GOP rivals clashed for an hour over who is best positioned to challenge first-term Democrat Dannel P. Malloy in the November election, appearing together for a Fox CT and Hartford Courant taping in the capital city that will air 10 a.m. Sunday.

The Tribune-owned outlets live-streamed the debate -- one of only two scheduled between McKinney, the state Senate minority leader from Fairfield, and Foley, a former diplomat and Greenwich private equity manager -- on the Internet. The primary is Aug. 12.

McKinney, trailing Foley in public opinion polling, came out the aggressor and said he is the only candidate who would shrink the size of state government.

"Listen: Tom has said he wants to flat-fund the government," McKinney said. "Now he says he wants to reduce spending. We need to be honest with the people."

Foley stated his support for holding spending flat for two years if elected, which he said correlates to an 8 percent cut based on the current trajectory of the budget under Malloy. Seeking to avenge his 6,500 vote loss to Malloy in 2010, Foley characterized McKinney as an enabler of the tax-and-spend policies that have made Connecticut's economy one of the worst in the nation.

"He's part of the problem," Foley said. "Why should the citizens trust you to do something different than when you were holding office?"

Democrats used Twitter in an attempt to "truth squad" the debate in real time, accusing Foley and McKinney of distorting Malloy's record to combat gun violence in the cities and fix transportation, and Connecticut's efforts to close the achievement gap during the last four years.

The state's response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Newtown represented a major point of departure for the GOP adversaries, with Foley saying that lawmakers such as McKinney failed to address the thinning safety net for those suffering from mental illness when they crafted gun-control and school-safety legislation.

"Look: I've been very vocal in my objection to the governor's bill," Foley said. "The problem, though, is a mental health problem."

McKinney, whose district includes Newtown, said Foley sat on the sidelines and simply lobbed criticisms of a bill that took steps to address mental illness.

"We need people who are willing to take positions," McKinney said. "I shared the pain with those families when they were told their kids were not coming back. Quite frankly, I don't think anybody who is state senator of Newtown would have done anything differently."

On education, McKinney vowed to block the implementation of Common Core, the controversial national curriculum mandate.

Foley, in turn, said that McKinney helped pave the way for Common Core when he voted for Malloy's education reform package.

McKinney said the rollout of Common Core preceded the legislation.

On transportation, McKinney said he opposes tolls or congestion pricing. Foley has said the state should look at congestion pricing.

Neither candidate made any game-changing gaffes, though there was one memorable Freudian slip from Foley when he engaged McKinney over raiding the state's Special Transportation Fund.